


Lakehouses, Lavendar and Love

by landsliide



Category: Orphan Black (TV), cophine
Genre: F/F, Holiday, cophine - Freeform, lakehouse
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-21
Updated: 2015-05-22
Packaged: 2018-03-25 03:12:24
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 13,228
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3794506
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/landsliide/pseuds/landsliide
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Cosima goes on holiday with her family she expects two weeks of science, sand and sleep. She doesn't expect to be staying in a lakehouse across from the beautiful and kind Delphine Cormier.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Day 1

**Author's Note:**

> okay i wrote this forever ago and tbh i kind of hate it now, i know i'm supposed to grow and change as a writer (can't believe i just called myself a writer: ew) but looking back at this makes me cringe anyway i'll leave it up anyway just as a disclaimer this is old and bad

Day 1

The sun beams through the window of the aggressively red car, straight into my bespectacled eyes. I squint, halfheartedly throwing a hand up to cup around my eyes, providing enough shade so I can peer at the scenery. Clifftops leer over sand rimmed beaches, houses crammed into disorderly lines, crowding the area surrounding the lake. 

"That's the house we're staying at, Cosima," my mum states, pointing at a lake house about as close to the lake as you could get. "You'll love it. Maybe you can make some new friends while we're here."

"Ah yes, new friends for two weeks while we're here that I'll immediately lose contact with as soon as we return to San Fran, what a wonderful idea!" I reply, words dripping with sarcasm, dark hazel eyes rolling. My mother sighs audibly and stares at my dad out of the corner of her eye. He just shrugs back at her, hiding an amused grin. 

 

I stand on the balcony outside my room, gazing across at the beautiful, teal lake that glistens and gleams in the mid summer sun. I glance across at the house opposite. Then I see her. 

Her eyes press close delicately as she exhales a lung full of smoke. She lays flat against the ground, her stunningly pretty face ringed with wild blonde curls like rays of sunshine. Long legs stretched out, lanky arms behind her head. 'Holy watershed I'm living across from a supermodel for two weeks,' I think to myself, gawking at the 1.7 meters of beauty and smoke, sprawled across the grass. I need to stop staring, but I just can't seem to look away. 

The mid afternoon wind whips my dreadlocks around as I skip down the steep stairs leading from my balcony to the ground, taking them two at a time. The asphalt of the narrow road is pleasantly warm against the soles of my feet as I pad down to the lake. Silkily soft sand squishes between tan toes as waves cascade across the beach, moving out and in, out and in. I flop down on the sand and start reading my science book. 

It's going to be a great two weeks. 

 

It's 12:05 at night and I can't sleep. The air in my room is too stuffy and my legs feel achey from being still too long. I exhale dramatically, slipping on a bra under my tank-top and throwing on a maroon jumper to protect me from the harsh, night wind. Buttoning up my faded denim shorts and grabbing a joint and zippo from my bedside drawer, I carefully slide the glass door to the balcony open just enough so I can slip my small frame through. I close it behind me, remembering to leave it unlocked. Taking in a long breath of fresh, cold air, I start walking.

I zone out and when I suddenly become fully conscious of where I am I scan my surroundings. I'm at the entrance of a fenced in park with a few creaky and omniscient swings, a huge dark blue roundabout, a slide and a towering tree with willowy branches that look strong enough to hold me up. I hoist myself up by my sunkist arms, swinging my legs over so I'm sitting on the branch, legs outstretched, shoulder blades pressed into the rough bark of the tree trunk. 

I light my joint, eyebrows furrowing and eyes crossing as I shield the small flame of my zippo from the frost-bitten breeze. I inhale a long, deep breath of toxicity, wallowing in the feel of it in my chest. I exhale loudly, watching the smoke tumble and twirl through the air.

Soon enough my chestnut eyes are fluttering closed and my head is lolling back against the tree. Until I hear a noise.

Faint, but getting louder and louder, rustling. I swivel around, trying to carefully peer around at the park gate to see who's there. "Damn," I mutter to myself as hanging leaves obscure my view. I lean closer, shifting my body weight slightly. Slightly too much.

Before I can stop myself I'm slipping off of the natural hammock I'm settled in and I'm falling towards the concrete floor. I hit the ground with an "oomfph!" that echoes loudly, landing on my ass. 

"Merde!" a voice exclaims. I push myself up onto my elbows, squinting through the darkness to find out who the charmingly french voice belongs to. "What are you doing?!" 

"Well right now I'm lying on the ground, but a second ago I was falling out of the tree I was hanging out in," I explain sarcastically through a grin. "I'm Cosima by the way. Cosima Niehaus." The girl steps forwards into the glow of the streetlight towering over her. 'Holy watershed!' I think to myself. It's none other than the girl from the house across, the smoker with the curls!

"I'm Delphine," she introduces herself through a thick accent. "Enchanté."

"Enchanté," I stammer back, completely butchering her language. The blonde smirks at me, extending a hand to help me up as she strides forwards. She looks roughly my age, 16, but she towers over me, and not just because I'm half lying, half sitting on the floor like a moron. I accept her hand up and she pulls me up with surprising strength. "So what kind of mischief are you causing, other than scaring strangers out of trees, in the middle of the night, Delphine?" I ask.

"I needed fresh air," she answers. "And," she continues leaning closer and lowering her voice like she's revealing a big secret, "I needed a cigarette." She holds up a red and white packet of cigs. I nod understandingly. "What about you, Cosima?"

My name sounds 2000 times better coming from her mouth. "The same, the same," I reply. "And I needed a joint," I explain, holding up the spliff still clasped between my ring laden fingers. Delphine nods, curls bouncing. 

"You're in the lake-house across from me, oui?" the french asks, furrowing her eybrows adorably. It's my turn to nod. "Let me walk you home," she states bluntly. 

"O-ok, yeah sure. Thanks," I stutter out, grinning idiotically. She smiles back, olive eyes sparkling with kindness and possible new friendship. I hold the gate ajar for her. 

We stroll home, taking our time, making small talk about hometowns and lake-houses and science, which we're both coincidentally interested in.

"You are staying for two weeks too?" she asks. I nod vigourously. She smiles again. It sends butterflies fluttering through my stomach and I have to count back from 5 to steady myself as my head whirls. 

"Thanks for walking me home," I say gratefully. "I'll see you around, maybe?" Another curl bouncing nod. 

"Bye Delphine."

"Ciao Cosima."

"Ciao!"

I slide the door closed behind me and give the beautiful girl an energetic wave goodbye before I flop face down on my bed and let out a muffled squeak of excitement.

I spoke to Delphine, the french goddess from across the road.


	2. Day 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Cosima and Delphine spend the day together and have some banter.

Day 2

 

I wake up feeling surprisingly refreshed, even though the night before there was a severe lack of sleep (or more accurately this morning), which I have a feeling was to do with the possibility of seeing Delphine again. The wall clock reads 10am and I'm ready to relax in the sand for a day.

After showering, I throw on a zebra print bikini, pick up a plain white beach towel and some sunglasses and shout a bye downstairs to my parents, stuffing flip flops on my feet. I throw open the balcony door and strut out, admiring the view of the crystal blue sky, crystal blue seas, golden white sand and olive eyes. Olive eyes that lock with mine across the road from me. Olive eyes that belong to a blonde in a simplistic black bikini that shows off her slim figure, clutching a white towel and sunglasses that mirror mine. I grin and wave enthusiastically.

"Hi Delphine!" I call, cheerful and chipper, despite how early it is. She sheepishly waves back, smiling from ear to ear.

"Are you going to the lake?" she asks. 

"Mmhm. You coming?" Her eyes shine as the toothy grin she gives me lights up her face like a streetlamp. Deja vu hits me like a tidal wave as my head dizzies and my stomach flips. The strikingly beautiful blonde gracefully descends the stairs, contrasting me as I clumsily rush down from my balcony. 

"The lake looks calm today," she observes. "No waves." 

"That's no fun," I frown. "We'll just have to make our own waves," I decide, smirking and sauntering towards the lake, taking two steps to every one of Delphine's to match pace with her.

Chuckling, she throws her towel and sunglasses down on the sand as we arrive. She heads towards the water, gesturing for me to do the same. 

I drop my own stuff and start jogging to the lake that Delphine is already up to her mid-thighs in. "Don't splash me," she instructs. "I don't want to get my hair wet, it will get even wilder than usual!" 

"I like your hair. Whoever said wild was bad?" I respond, jogging into the crystal clear depths, spraying water behind me. 

"I did," she quips, raising her eyebrows and curling her mouth into a tight-lipped smirk. 

"Well I'm over ruling you."

"Is that so?" 

"Yep," I state bluntly. "And this," I say pausing slightly, "is for scaring me out of a tree yesterday!" I grin mischievously as I jerk my hands through the lake, soaking Delphine from wild hair to toes with salty liquid. She gapes at me, but the amusement is clear in her eyes.

"You're going to regret that Cosima Niehaus!" the immunology major squeals, running at me, arms flailing as she splashes icy water at me, forcing a gasp from my throat. Without a moment's hesitation, I turn and sprint away. Eventually I hear her thunderous splashing footsteps halt and I stop to catch my breath, whirling around to face the french goddess. But she's gone.

"Delphine?" I exclaim. "Delphine?!" I shout louder. 'Where is she?' I ask myself inside my head, whirling around on the spot. 

I gaze down at the shadow marking the water directly in front of me. "Oh no," I groan, as I feel porcelain arms wrap around my legs from underwater, taking me out completely. I flail my arms, shrieking like a banshee, tumbling backwards, hitting the water and falling through turquoise walls disorderly. I kick my legs, propelling myself towards the surface. A scowl marks my face, although I know she can tell I'm faking it. Her laughter fills me head to toe with warmth, even though I'm shivering violently in the mid-morning air. 

"Gotcha!" she exclaims between bursts of angelic giggles. 

"Very funny," I growl through a charismatic smirk. 

We stumble clumsily back to our towels. I shake like a newly-washed dog, sending a shower of droplets at Delphine, who cries out before lowering herself elegantly to the ground, lounging against the pillowy sand as the sun dries her. I follow suit, stretching out on my towel. I let out a content sigh. 

"I could get used to two weeks of this," I point out. 

"Mm," Delphine agrees, eyes closed, sunglasses on.

We lie there peacefully for what feels like an hour, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, as if we're life long best friends, in comfortable silence. She feels like that to me. Like a childhood pal. I nudge her with my elbow. "You'll get sunburnt if we stay here any longer, you pale freak," I joke. It's weird how easy it feels to pick fun of Delphine, knowing she'll realise it's just banter.

"You have a very good point Cosima," she replies, sounding out my name syllable by syllable. 

"How does eskimo pies in a nice shady spot sound?"

"I'm sure it'd sound even better if I knew what eskimo pies were," she chuckles.

"You'll find out!" I declare, my decision made. I leap up and offer her a sandy hand. The lanky girl accepts, and I pull her up. 

 

About a half hour later we're sat on the roundabout in the park where we first spoke, less than 24 hours before, but what feels like a lifetime ago. She sinks her teeth into her eskimo pie, letting out a satisfied "mmm."

"Right?" I respond, quickly devouring my own. 

"I think I might be becoming a craven addict," Delphine states between petite nibbles.

'Me too," I think to myself, looking into Delphine's eyes, searching for something, but I'm not quite sure what.

I push my booted foot against the floor, spinning the roundabout gently. The sun is setting rapidly, throwing shades of orange and yellow across the sky. Leaning back and laying across the cool metal, I scour the colours with my eyes. 

A "clang" of metal signifies that Delphine has joined me, lying next to me like on the beach. The french is removing a cigarette from her back pocket, lighting it swiftly.

"Would you like one? Do you smoke?" she questions.

"Just pot," I explain. My signature grin spreads across my face. "I'm gonna get you so baked one day."

"Mmm, okay," she responds. "Better hurry up though, we've only twelve days left here."

"Don't say that," I demand. "I don't want to leave. I want to stay here forever. Stay here with me forever, okay?" Desperation sinks it's claws into my voice.

"Okay," Delphine answers, lacing her pinkie finger round mine, causing my breath to hitch and my heart to start beating erratically.

"Okay," I repeat. 

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Okay."

"Stop saying that," I request.

"Okay," she smirks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! I hope you enjoyed. I'm going to start updating every Monday and Friday from now on.
> 
> You can follow me on tumblr at www.misguided_renegade.tumblr.com


	3. Day 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Waterfights, midnight strolls and stars.

Day 3

 

I laugh loudly and obnoxiously, hiding behind a large pile of sand that defends me from the water balloons being launched at me from Delphine. I peek over the top and hurl an expertly aimed one that smacks her straight in the arm, making her erupt in giggles, followed by a shriek. I quickly snap a photo with my disposable camera as she stands there, gawking and dripping icy water.

"I'll get you for that one!" the blonde cries. 

"Good luck with that!" I grab the 'Super-soaker' water pistol from next to me and aim at her, soaking her from head to toe, before I duck quickly behind my sand fort. I hear her not so sneaky footsteps in the sand behind me. The shadow of her arm casts over me as she bursts a water balloon over my head, soaking my dreadlocks considerably. 

"DELPHINE!" I bellow, hurdling over the makeshift barrier and running straight for the French as she stands there, backing away slowly, overflowing with cherub like giggles. I make a snap decision and wrap my arms around her, throwing the surprisingly light blonde over my shoulder, fireman style.

"Put me down!" she screeches as I sprint for the lake, spinning around occasionally to dizzy her. "Cosima!" she howls as I chuck her straight into the water, cackling with laughter. "You brat!"

"You love me really," I point out between bursts of laughter as Delphine stands in front of me, water dripping from soaked curls, down her forehead and perfectly curved nose, past strawberry ice cream lips that pout at me adorably. She shoves me playfully, but it's not half as forcefully as I know she can. "Is that how it is?" The goddess nods. I give her a mischievous push back. She nudges me with more force and before I know it we're trying our hardest to throw each other into the cyan waters, fighting like siblings.

 

I'm in my room, exhausted from a day of water fights, swimming and Delphine. Delphine, Delphine, Delphine, the word I hear at the back of my mind all day and all night and the face that swims through the murky depths of my dreams when all I can hear is crickets chirping melodically and her laugh. She engulfs my thoughts like a tsunami, drenching everything in the smell of lavender. I sigh, throwing my quilt off and pacing my room, raking stubby fingers through my dreadlocks. I begin to search for my maroon hoodie that I reserve for night time strolls, the one with a pocketful of joints and my zippo, when I hear a rap of knuckles against the sliding glass door. I find the hoodie and throw it over my head hastily before pressing my face against the glass to see who's there. 

"Delphine," I breathe, marking the glass with clouds of words. I slide the door open and step outside, before looking down and realising I still have my flannel pyjama shorts on and I'm bare foot. I feel the familiar tinge of burning in my cheeks as I blush. "Hey, Delphine, you okay?" My voice is raspy and low so my parents don't think I'm up.

"Oui, I was just wondering whether you were up for another midnight stroll?" she suggests.

"Yeah totally! Just let me find some shorts... and some shoes." 

"O-of course," she stammers, tripping on her words as she looks towards the ground awkwardly, not quite sure what to do. 

"Please, come in," I offer as I clumsily rifle through my drawers. "But keep your voice down," I instruct, pointing at the floor to communicate my parents are downstairs. She perches on my bed, hands folded in her lap. I find a pair of leggings and begin to pull my pyjama shorts off. When I look in the mirror I can swear I catch Delphine fleetingly glance at me in just my pants and hoodie, but I turn away quickly and so does she. When I finally have my leggings on, as well as a pair of faded black vans, I turn around. 

"Ready to go?" I ask, voice lowered. The blonde simply nods in response, lifting herself off the edge of my bed. Her cheeks and neck are stained with a tint of cherry red but I shrug it off.

We head out, skipping down the steps, arm in arm, giggling about something stupid. Bright stars twinkle loudly above us, watching like guardian angels. The moon peeks out from behind candy floss clouds. Delphine smokes her cigarette and I inhale from my spliff. In the moment I feel like life can never get better than it can right now, in the most optimistic of ways, a joint between smiling lips, a beautiful blonde french woman hanging onto my arm. I breath in the stench of stale air, lavender and weed. I want to capture the moment forever, so I do, in a sense, with the disposable camera wedged in my pocket. I point the lens towards us and grin. 

"Smile!" I instruct. Delphine smiles and leans her head in towards me, uncontrollable curls tickling my cheek. I grin even wider and take the picture with a 'click'. She adjusts her pose, pressing a sloppy kiss on my cheek. 'Click.' Delphine slips her arm out of the crook of mine and the night suddenly seems a lot frostier without her next to me, but the warmth of smoke quickly fills my lungs, heating me up. 

The blonde begins skipping down the opal coloured road, stopping occasionally to grab hold of a streetlamp and swing herself around it, avoiding cracks in the road with grace. A throaty laugh escapes my lips. 

"Come dance with me!" Delphine calls, spinning on the spot, curls bouncing and flouncing in time with her. I race after her, stubbing out my weed beneath my toe. My heart feels lighter and my head seems to be touching the stars, but I can't tell if it's from the toxins running through my veins or the Delphine running through my veins. I jump through the air, spinning my arms around like a maniac. Delphine grabs my palm friendlily, swinging our hands between us like an innocent child. 

"Someone's in a good move," I observe, feeling like my face is going to split open as I beam at the french woman. She titters, stumbling clumsily. "Are you drunk?" I joke. 

"No, just happy," she corrects me. 

"I'm glad."

We reach the park and I run for the swings, standing up on them, clinging onto the metal chains. She does the same, but she's so tall the hair on top of her hair is brushing against the bar across the top of the set. I snort loudly.

"You might be a bit too tall for this," I tease.

"You're a cheeky one, you," she retorts, smushing the end of her cigarette into the metal bar to put it out. 

"What you gonna do about it?" I challenge her, sticking my tongue out immaturely. 

"I'm going to..." Delphine starts. "Tickle you!" She lunges for me, wrapping her hands around my ribs, tickling me everywhere till I'm cackling with laughter and falling to the concrete, gasping for breath. The blonde finally ceases and offers me a slender hand. I grab it and yank forcefully, pulling her down next to me so we're both staring up at the stars, lying flat on our backs. 

"You seem to have a lot of trouble staying on your feet around me," Delphine states. 

'You don't know the half of it,' I think to myself, staring into her eyes. They shine brighter than the stars above. I tear my gaze away and return to staring at the sky again. 

I wonder if she can hear my heart thumping.


	4. Day 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Break ups and The Notebook

Day 7

When it's 11:30 and there's still been no sight of Delphine, I get very worried, very quickly. "Where is she?" I mutter to my shoes. 

We've known each other for a whole week now, although it feels like a month, a year, a lifetime. Everyday we wake up and meet at 10, spending the whole day together, swimming and walking and hiking and dancing and smoking, sometimes the whole night too, wandering the deserted streets and pratting around in our park. You can tell by the pile of pictures from my camera that are steadily stacking up. 

But today Delphine isn't stood on her balcony, and it's almost two hours after our usual meeting time. Worry churns in my stomach, making me nauseous. Did I do something wrong? Is she okay? Did she leave without telling me, a week early?

I've never been very patient and I can't wait any longer, I have to know if she's okay. I throw on a navy tank top and hastily pull up some shorts over my bikini. 

"Bye!" I shout downstairs to my parents. I think they'd be upset that I wasn't spending any quality family time with them on our vacation if it wasn't for the obvious positive mood I've been stuck in since I've met Delphine and the fact that I've made a new friend. A new best friend. 

I sling open the back door and meander across the road and up the stairs till I'm at Delphine's balcony door. I take a deep breath of courage and knock lightly against the glass. I step back and wait. Anxiously, I fiddle with the many bracelets covering my forearm. Five minutes pass and I'm readying to turn back and spend the day moping and sulking in my room when I hear the "thunk" of Delphine's door unlocking.

"Delphine?" I ask, my voice full of concern. Streaks of mascara discolour her soft cheeks and snail trails of tears mark lines from the inner corners of her eyes all the way to her jaw line. She's still in her pyjamas, plain black t-shirt and grey trackies. How does she still look so flawless? "Delph, what's wrong?" A sob racks through the blonde's body. She raises her palms to her eyes to smother the fresh tears that are gathering rapidly, sighing long deep breaths. Her breath hitches as I throw my arms around her a little too forcefully, rubbing her back with open hands to calm her. She settles her head on my shoulder, snivelling into the crook of my neck.

"You don't have to tell me what's wrong, but you can if you want." Delphine raises her head to stare into my dark eyes, seeing nothing but genuine concern and kindness. Delphine shakes her head, embarrassed. 

"I'm sorry for crying all over you," she apologises. 

"It's fine, honestly," I reassure her. She grabs my hand and pulls me inside, shutting the door behind me, then looks down, as if she's already regretting what she's just done.

"I-I'm sorry, I'm sure you don't want to stay here with me while I cry over something so stupid, you can leave if you want, I wouldn't blame you," Delphine mumbles, a hand absentmindedly playing with the stray hairs at the nape of her neck that aren't secured in her bun, a blush creeping up her cheeks.

"No! No. I want to stay and make sure you're okay. Unless you want me to leave?"

"No, please stay if you want to." I nod. The french woman sits down on the edge of her bed, crossing and uncrossing her legs. I look around. Her room is almost identical to mine, same mirror wardrobe, same oak bed, same tv. 

"Do you want to talk about it?" I ask cautiously.

"My boyfriend..." she starts. Oh god, oh god. She has a boyfriend. I have a crush on a straight girl (how stereotypical of me) with a boyfriend. I attempt to swallow the lump in my throat. God, how could I be so stupid? Of course she's not interested in me, she probably just feels bad for me here, friendless and short. 

"Well, ex-boyfriend," she continues. The butterflies in my stomach return and I have to pinch myself to stop myself from grinning or leaping up and doing a ridiculous victory dance. Maybe I was wrong. "We broke up..." she trails off.

"Aw, Delphine, I'm sorry. He doesn't deserve you," I assure her, running my palm up and down her back to soothe her. She nods absentmindedly leaning into me before wrapping her arms around me again. We fall back against her bed, her arms around my shoulders, mine around her waist, holding her in a tight embrace. Delph sniffles and hiccups, nose pressed into my collarbone. I rock back and forwards like a mother with her child, making soothing shushing noises in her ear. 

Almost an hour later the blonde peels her face from my shoulder, locking eyes with me. Her pupils are widened into giant black saucers, looking through my eyes and into my brain. 

"You are the best friend I've ever had Cosima. Thank you for being so wonderful." 

"Well, what can I say," I joke, smiling sheepishly. We sit, surrounded by comfortable silence. "I'm gonna go grab something," I announce. "You wait here, I'll be back as quick as possible I promise," I instruct her, leaping up. Delphine's face is marked with surprise as I glance back at her, grinning, before racing off.

When I return to Delphine's balcony 10 minutes later my arms are full of bags of popcorn, m&m's and two tubs of Ben and Jerry's from the corner shop down the road, two spoons and at least ten different movies.

I stumble into the room when Delphine gestures for me to come in, sat on her bed, cradling a pillow. 

"My God, Cosima, what is all of this stuff?" she inquires.

"It's the break up survival kit!" I state, beaming at her before dumping everything on her bedside table. "I didn't know what sort of m&m's you liked or if you were allergic to peanuts or something, so I just got some peanut ones and some regular ones, and I didn't know what sort of movies you like but luckily I brought a selection from my room, I have rom-coms, sappy films like The Notebook, although I think you've done enough crying today, and I have comedies and dramas and a couple sci-fis," I ramble, holding up different films as I go. "And then I didn't know if you like salted or sweet popcorn, so I brought both and-"

"Cosima!" Delphine interrupts. "Please breathe!" I simply grin in response. "I like salted popcorn. I like peanut and regular m&m's and I like any genre of movie, though you're probably right about The Notebook," she chuckles. 

"That's good, because I like sweet!" I declare, snatching the sweet popcorn off the bedside table and passing the salted to her. "More for me!" The blonde erupts in giggles. "I like it when you're happy," I comment. 

"Me too," she whispers through a smile. I smile back before rifling through the films.

"So what'll it be? I think you need a comedy," I suggest. The immunology major hums her agreement. 

Two films, a plethora of popcorn, an assortment of m&m's and probably too much Ben and Jerry's later, me and Delphine lay outstretched across the bed, feeling bloated and sticky, our sides aching from laughter at both the film and each other's commentary about the cliché comedy. 

"Do you feel better now?" I ask the french beauty.

"If by better you mean like I'm going to explode from overeating then yes, I feel one hundred times better."

"That's good, because I have a surprise for you tomorrow," I confess.

"I like surprises." 

"I'll meet you the usual time then?" I say, more of a question than a statement.

"Yeah, definitely." Standing up, I stretch my arms out above my head, suppressing a yawn. "Wait-" she exclaims, placing a soft hand on my forearm as I lower my arms to my sides. "Don't go yet." My face softens. Delphine is such an innocent soul. How could anyone ever break up with her? She is like hot cocoa when it's too cold out and eskimo pies when it's too hot. She's teeth-rotting sweet candy on Halloween in autumn and melt-in-your-mouth chocolate on Easter in spring. She is everything wonderful in the world, compressed into a slender figure. "Please," she says, a hint of desperation in her voice. 

"Yeah of course. I'm here, always," I say and I know I mean it. I'd travel to the end of the world for this girl. 'Damn,' I think to myself.

I've got it bad for Delphine.


	5. Day 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Picnics, Sunsets and Cliff Dives

Day 8

Delphine is on her balcony today, the outline of her bikini barely visible under her thin white t-shirt. She's got a raven-black leather jacket over the top that makes her look like a supermodel. My heart skips a beat as she smiles at me and begins descending the stairs to meet me. 

I'm a little more tired than usual because I had to wake up an hour early to make sure everything is prepped and ready, but the shining sun is speedily waking me up. I pull my flowing cardigan tighter around me as a shiver runs down my spine. 

Skipping down the stairs to meet the angelic Delphine, I wave enthusiastically, patting my pockets down to make sure I have my camera on me. I do.

"So, what's the plan for today?" she asks inquisitively. 

"I told you, it's a surprise!" The blonde pouts and huffs impatiently. "Come on," I encourage her, drawing out the words. I grab her hand and tug her along, pulling her along the road until I find the twisting dirt pathway that leads to the surprise. I lead her up it, dragging her along behind me. 

When we reach the top we're both panting for breath after racing up the steep incline, hands still clasped together, fingers tangled. We're stood on a clifftop, overlooking the lake below. The iridescent waters swirl and shimmer. The sun is warm, but not too bright. Everything seems perfect. Before us is a picnic that I took the liberty to lay out before. There's a red and white chequered picnic blanket along with a stereotypical wicker basket, french stick protruding from the lid.

"Come sit then," I demand, flopping down on one side of the blanket, patting the other side invitingly. She sits, mouth wide open, gawking, showing off pearly white teeth.

"Cosima, this is... wonderful. You are too nice to me!" 

"No such thing as too nice," I retort. Delphine simply smiles and shrugs, hands folded in her lap. I pull a bottle of champagne from the basket and remove the tin foil casing over the top. "This could go badly," I warn her, trying to push the cork out, aiming away from mine and Delphine's face, grunting in frustration as the cork refuses to budge.

"Here, let me," Delphine says, reaching across to help. She holds on to the cork, cupping my hands, sending tiny electric shocks from my hands to my elbows, all the way up to my shoulders and down my spine. She successfully dislodges it, creating a 'pop!' that echoes loudly through the air, sending the cork shooting into the sky. 

"Woo!" I cheer, retrieving two champagne flutes and filling them to the brim. I raise mine. "To friendship," I begin sarcastically, mimicking every cheesy toast ever. "And to vacations, picnics and science." Delphine raises her glass along with me.

"Cheers," she says, smiling and taking a long sip of her drink. I do the same. Bubbles tickle my nose as I take a gulp of the fizzy nectar. 'Click' goes my camera as I take pictures of Delphine, the picnic, Delphine, the stunning view and Delphine. 

"So," I start, tucking my camera away. "We've got croissants, in case you're homesick, PB&J sandwiches, grapes, cookies, eskimo pies of course..." I trail off, removing each food from the basket as I say it. "Where should we start?"

 

An hour or maybe two later we're even more full than we were the previous day after our junk food and movie binge. The bubbles have gone straight to our heads but Delphine seems to be handling it with much more grace, whilst I've already, embarrassingly, got loud and obnoxious hiccups shaking my body every few seconds.

The french woman's head is resting on my lap, my fingers playing gently with her gorgeous corkscrew curls as I try to suppress hiccup after hiccup after hiccup. 

"Have I ever mentioned how beautiful you are?" I question her, leaning over her face, pushing my glasses up the bridge of my nose as they begin to slide down.

"Non," Delphine answers shyly, red and pink reaching up her throat and onto her cheeks.

"Well I should more often. Because you really are."

"Thank you Cosima. As are you," Delphine compliments me, smiling kindly. My grin stretches from ear to ear. Her hand reaches for mine, threading our fingers together like stitches on a patchwork quilt. She toys with my fingers absentmindedly, staring into my eyes. I manage to carefully stretch my body out so I'm lying down perpendicular to the blonde, her head on my stomach. I brush the hair out of her eyes. "I think I could fall asleep here," Delphine announces.

"Me too," I agree. And I do.

 

When I wake up she's still asleep, snoozing quietly on my stomach, peach lips upturned into a peaceful smile. When I finally wrench my eyes away from her my eyes widen in surprise. The clementine sun is setting against a sky of fire, the collection of reds and oranges and yellows reflected in the shimmering lake. 

"Hey," I whisper. "Hey, Delph," I repeat, raising my voice slightly and gently shaking her shoulder. Her eyes flicker open. She raises a hand to her eyes to block the sun from her view, rolling over and grumbling something french.

"Sorry for waking you, but you should really see this." The immunology major sits up, stretching and yawning, before staring out at the sunset mesmerised. I stand slowly. Crisp grass tickles the soles of my now bare feet, having kicked my shoes off sometime during my slumber. The air feels light around me. I click a few pictures, but keep my gaze locked with the sunset as if we're in a staring competition. 

"It's beautiful," Delphine sighs. I hum in agreement, shuffling closer to the edge of the cliff, leaning over it. Nothing but water, water and more water lies below, stretching out for what looks like eternity. 

"We should totally do a cliff dive!" I exclaim, throwing my hands in the air as the idea strikes me.

"I don't know, is it safe?" Delphine asks, eyebrows furrowing in concern.

"Live a little," I smirk, already throwing my cardigan off and ripping my tank top over my head, kicking my shorts off rashly until I'm stood in just a multi-coloured bikini. "C'mon, we can do it at the same time! It'll be fun." The french woman's mouth twists uncertainly. "You don't have to obviously, if you don't want to," I reassure her. "But I'm going to."

"Alright, alright," Delphine sighs, but excitement and nervousness sparkle behind olive eyes, swirling together. She removes her clothes, adjusting her bikini subtly. We stand on the clifftop, toes curled over the ledge, digging into soft soil. I shiver, although it's not cold. "Aw, pauvre petit chou," she smirks, tittering as I shake uncontrollable.

"No, you're the puppy," I retort. Delphine grips my hand for dear life.

"On three?" she asks. I nod. "One... Two... Three!" Hands still linked we launch ourselves, springing forwards together, yelping and hollering as we plummet towards the water, the fantastic view of the sunset permanently scarring our memories in the best way possible. 

'SPLASH!' cries the lake as we collide with it, eyes clenched shut, mouths closed. The liquid knocks all the wind out of me and I kick my legs rhythmically, surging forwards and breaking the surface, pulling Delphine with me. 

"Whooooo!" I cry. "That was amazing!"

"Oui, definitely!" replies the blonde, her grin mirroring mine. There's a flat, smooth rock by the cliff's face, large enough for the both of us and I swim towards it, dragging myself ashore with the grace of a beached whale, while Delphine elegantly pulls herself up. We sit for a minute or two, catching our breaths. "Thank you for... everything," Delphine says, voice full of gratitude. "For the picnic, the cheering up yesterday, making me cliff jump-"

"I don't think I made you to be honest-"

"-For being the best friend I've ever had and for making this trip here to the lake house a thousand times better than I thought it'd be." 

"That's what friends are for right?" I shift slightly closer to her. Her eyes are doing that thing again, they're wide open and her pupils are like black holes and I feel like I'm being sucked into them as they pull me closer. And her lips, her lips are doing that other thing, half smiling, half smirking and just looking 100% kissable. I budge even closer. Her face is doing that thing too, the thing where it just looks cute. It does it all the time. I lean closer until our noses are practically bumping, Delphine's eyes closing as she leans in as well. She ducks even closer and our lips gently touch and it's like the sunset is back, a plethora of warm colours that start in my stomach and spiral outwards like fireworks and I'm kissing Delphine, I'm kissing the gorgeous girl from across the road and her lips taste like champagne and sleep and the sunset and cliff dives and slightly of salty water but I don't even mind because it's Delphine. I gently pull backwards. I kissed Delphine.

And that's what friends aren't for.


	6. Day 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sandcastles and boat rides

Day 9

"Morning," I awkwardly greet Delphine, the repetitive pattern on my flip flops seeming suddenly more interesting as I stare at them. 

"Morning," she replies. We're standing in the middle of the deserted road, more distance between us than usual. Too much distance. It's only a yard or two but it feels like a mile. I spent too much time picking my bikini that day and I'm too far away from the blonde and the silence stretches for too long. 

"Listen-"

"Cosima-" we both start at the same time. 

"Sorry, go ahead," I giggle shyly. Delphine takes a deep breath as if she's considering her words and how to say them, raking slender fingers through curls. 

"I just, I don't want things to be awkward after what happened yesterday," she explains. "But I don't regret what happened yesterday. At all." She takes a step towards me.

"That's... oddly encouraging," I chuckle. She smiles back, lacing our hands together. It's a simple gesture but behind it lays a thousand unsaid confirmations of 'I like you in that way' and 'I have feelings for you' and 'I might be falling for you.' 

 

"I found it in the basement and I thought it'd be fun!" I call to Delphine over my shoulder, dragging the wooden rowboat along sideways, oars chopping me in the legs as I struggle. 

"I'm not sure how I feel about this..." Delphine says, her lip between her teeth.

The lip that I kissed yesterday. The lip that kissed me back yesterday. The lip that smiled sheepishly as I walked the blonde back to her lake house yesterday, hand in hand, giggling like school children. The lip that opened and closed when she asked if I wanted to come inside. The lip that whispered "Goodnight Cosima" as we fell asleep, her cradling me in her arms like a baby.

"How badly can it go?" I question, dropping the faded brown boat to the ground exhaustedly. Delphine just shakes her head and helps me to pick it back up, tucking the oars under her arm. 

"C'mon then, let's get this over with then," she breathes.

"I like your enthusiasm." 

After a bit of struggling and dropping and picking back up and more dropping, we finally get the boat to the beach. I give it a hearty shove into the water and it bobs and nods along with the waves, but more importantly it floats. 

"M'lady," I joke, grinning as I offer a hand to Delphine to help her into the boat. She accepts, tip toeing into the boat cautiously. I jump in, making the wooden vehicle bounce and wobble. 

"Cosima!" Delphine cries, clinging on to the sides, knuckles whitening. 

"Soz," I apologise, half grinning, half grimacing. 

'The Funky Monkey' reads the side of the boat in peeling white paint. Two wooden planks that are supposed to be benches sit parallel to each other, two oar slots in between. 

"Oh my God, Delph, look at what the boats called," I faux-gasp, laughing. 

"The Funky Monkey?" chuckles Delphine, leaning over the side. "The geek monkey and The Funky Monkey," she teases. 'Geek monkey' is the new pet name she's taken to calling me, but I don't mind at all. 

"And you," I add. 

"Gee, thanks," the french woman replies sarcastically, sitting on one of the benches, but a smile still emerges and brightens her face. 

I begin rowing the boat, slicing the oars through the water rhythmically, rocking back and forwards in sync. Delphine lies back, circular sunglasses resting on her nose. The sun beats down on my back as it climbs up an invisible ladder through a teal sky. 

"Hey, I'm getting the hang of this!" I observe, beaming at the blonde. "But my arms hurt. And we're quite far out." I peer at the way we've come. I notice the shore seems at quite a distance as I squint through the thick lenses of my glasses. Delphine raises her head halfheartedly.

"Take a break. Come relax, ma chérie," she tempts me, scooting over on her bench and patting the space next to her invitingly. 

"Ma chérie," I repeat. "Well, aren't you romantic?" I mock, dropping my glasses and jumping up on the bench, the boat shaking considerably. "I'll have to one up that with a beautiful serenade." I take one oar and stick it in the water, paddling as if I was on a gondola. "AVA MARIA," I bellow, stretching out the words, throwing my head back. "BLAH BLAH BLAH ITALIANO," I continue. Delphine bursts out laughing, cackling, doubled over, clutching her sides. I throw my hands in the air and bow, throwing myself off balance. "Wooooah!" I exclaim, attempting to steady myself, arms out, forgetting I have an oar in my hand that I then proceed to knock myself in the stomach with, sending me flying directly into the lake.

'SPLASH!' Salty waters erupt around me as the lake and I collide. I feel like falling into large areas of water (and falling in general) has happened too much since I've met Delphine. I emerge, grin still plastered on my face. Delphine obviously hasn't stopped laughing because tears stream down from crinkly eyes as she leans over the side of the boat, reaching for me.

"How was that for romantic?" 

Delphine grabs my hand and leads me closer, brushing soaking wet dreads from my face. "Maybe you should refrain from trying to be romantic in future... for your own sake," she chuckles, grabbing either side of my face and pressing a soft kiss on my lips, even though they probably taste like salt water. She leans back and tries to heave me over the side of the boat but the kiss has made my arms weak and instead of dragging me into the boat I'm dragging Delphine into the lake and she is literally falling head over heels for me. 

She emerges looking shocked, cold and kissable. 

"Are you alright?" I inquire, concern creeping into my voice, trying to hold the blonde a float. Her hair is matted to her head with water but she still looks stunning and she's still smiling and I still kiss her. "Sorry," I breathe, although to be honest I'm not. She wraps her arms around me and we float in the water like buoys, kissing and hugging and whispering. 

 

We're on the sand, hair drying naturally in the cheerful sunlight, snapping pictures and kissing. So much kissing, like we're trying to make up for all they years of our lives when we weren't. Like we're running out of time, which we really are, with only five days left together. Eventually we stop for a while.

"We should make sandcastles," I childishly suggest, hands thrown out to my sides as if to say 'here is the sand in case you were wondering.' 

"Okay," Delphine agrees simply. 

"Don't look at mine!" I cry as I flop to the ground, gathering piles of sand around me.

"Whatever you say," the french laughs, tottering off and dropping to the ground, moulding perfectly shaped walls and towers and decorating it with shells intricately. She glances over at me out of the corner of her eye. "Oh my god Cosima!" she shouts, stifling a giggle.

"Hey! I said no looking!" I scold, a crimson blush painting my cheeks. I'm lying down, covered in sand with a sandy mermaid tail and sand boobs, so only my head sticks out the top. "How do I look?" I joke.

"Sandy," Delphine observes.

"How come your's looks so professional and nice?" I whine.

"Because I didn't try and fit myself in mine!" teases the blonde, brushing away sand to uncover me. 

"Well you're just a bit boring aren't you," I retort. She hums in agreement. "But I still like you," I add. "A lot." I thread my fingers through the immunology major's, staring into doe eyes. She brings my tanned hand to her face, placing a delicate kiss on the pads of each finger and then one on my palm.

"I like you a lot too Cosima." 

"Even though I'm not a sand mermaid?"

"Even though you're not a sand mermaid."

And I gulp and I swallow and I breathe heavily because I've just told Delphine I like her a lot but I didn't mean it. I don't like her.

I love her.


	7. Day 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Professions and confessions

Day 11

"So, I was on another basement adventure..." I begin.

"Oh God," Delphine groans. "Here we go."

"Hey!" I cry. "That boat ride was fun!"

"What about the swing ball match?" the french woman counters, raising one eyebrow coyly.

"I thought we agreed not to speak of that," I mumble, embarrassed. Delphine laughs bemusedly, cupping my face in her hands and placing a sloppy kiss on my forehead.

"Does that make up for it?" I simply nod. "So what's on the schedule for today, ma chérie?"

"Well I found this giant canvas and all these paints," I explain, gesturing erratically. "I'm not much of an artist but like, it'd be really fun and stuff." 

"That does sound fun, but I don't want to ruin my clothes so I'm going to go change," Delphine states. "Don't miss me too much."

"I'll try."

 

When she returns I'm in the back yard, canvas propped against the picket fence lining the area, bottles of paints and paintbrushes scattered around the grass. I'm wearing a huge white t-shirt that reaches my knees. 

"Hey," Delphine greets me, smirking slightly at the oversized shirt. 

"Hey yourself." The smoker's hair is twisted back into a elegant bun at the back of her head and she's wearing an old white shirt as well, with a hole in the shoulder, but hers is normal sized and her denim shorts peek out the bottom. 

The canvas is almost the height of me and its longer than two of me lying down. 

"You ready to get... arty?" I grin.

"Is the word you're looking for creative?" Delphine laughs, poking me in the arm. 

"Maybe." Once again I blush.

"You're cute when you're embarrassed." 

"You're cute all the time," I observe, going on tip toes to place an affectionate kiss on her cheek. It's her turn to go red-cheeked. "Now let's get creative!"

I crack open a bottle of turquoise paint, splattering it on to a paper plate I'm using as a make shift palette. I dip my wide paintbrush in and mark long wavy lines along the bottom of the canvas.

"The lake?" asks Delphine as she sits cross legged on the floor, mixing paints carefully. I nod. She fills in all the white gaps with different shades of blues and greens and greys. She understands colours and shadows in a different way, using tones and shades to highlight different areas realistically, while I try and make everything as loud and colourful as possible. 

Delphine delicately paints an almost perfect half circle sun just above the lake, as if it's peering over it as it sets. It reminds me of that day on the beach. The best day of my life. I can tell the immunology major is thinking back to it as well because she's lovingly gazing at me out the corner of her eye as a smile creeps on to her face. Love. That word again.

I would marry her right here, right now, I know I would. But we are young and stupid and when we are cosy back home like birds in nests we'll be an ocean and a half apart. She'll leave the lake house, driving and ferrying with her parents back to France and I'll return to the bustling city life of San Fran and everything will go back to how it used to be before Delphine. And all I'll have to remember her is pictures and maybe a few emails. 

I don't ever want to lose contact with the blonde but it'll happen. I know it will, no matter how far I sink my nails into the memory of her and how often I send emails punctuated with little smiley faces because it'll be different. There'll be no smoke in the air, there'll be no sand beneath my feet, there'll be no tangy french accent between peppermint teeth. Delphine will find someone better, someone funnier and smarter and athletic and somewhere who's there.

I feel like crying at the thought. But I don't. I smile and I paint the sunset. 

Delphine paints a pair of lips. I mark a love heart in the corner cheerily. It's cheesy but it makes her smile anyway. She returns to painting the sunset, clementine seeping into lemon yellow and crimson.

"Hey Cosima-" the french woman jolts me out of the day dream I was slipping into. I turn around dozily and WHACK she playfully slaps me with a handful of lilac. 

"Delphine you little..." I threaten, deafened by her shrieks of laughter. I pick up a paintbrush and slather her from cheek, diagonally over her mouth, down her chin and scooping under the gentle curve of her neck, sliding over collarbones and all down the front of her t-shirt in cyan. She's already picking up a bottle of crimson and squeezing forcefully, spraying me with paint specks like raindrops, dyeing my dreads better than any hair dye could. 

A plethora of paint collides as we run at each other, colours flying, jostling each other like play-fighting toddlers. We're tumbling to the ground, rolling over each other in a struggle to get more paint, to dictate the other with their colour. A rainbow of finger prints and entire hand prints stains us from head to tow, soaked into our hair, smeared down our shirts, splattered over our faces. 

"White flag!" I yelp as Delphine holds a bottle over my head as I'm laying on the no longer green grass. She's kind of... straddling me, sat on my hips, one leg either side of me. "I surrender. Don't kill me."

"Give me one reason I shouldn't," she jokes, golden hair glimmering in the sunlight as if it's on fire. 

"Because I love you."

Her olive eyes widen, perfectly plucked eyebrows raised so high they're practically lifting off her face. Her eyeliner is ever so slightly smudged and dark purple bags hang under her eyes. Her jaw drops dramatically. She hops off of me and plops down beside me, absentmindedly finger painting a peach heart on my tanned knee. 

"You love me?" she asks, trying to sound casual about it. I nod slowly. Because it's true, I do. I love the way her laugh sounds when she's trying not to. I love the way she looks flawlessly beautiful all the time. I love the curve of her nose, the permanent line between her brows from constant furrowing and the way her eyes shine like headlights when the sun has set and I'm admiring her under the light of a moon and a thousand stars. I love the fact that I can tell her about anything and I love the way I can trust her with anything and I love the way I'm not only attracted to her physical being but I'm attracted to her mind.

"I love you," I confirm.

"I love you too," Delphine confesses, lacing our hands together. Colours swirl between our palms. I feel like the weight of the world has lifted off my shoulders. She loves me too. 

The blonde leans down, stray curls tickling my forehead as she kisses me. And kisses me again. And again. And again and again and again and again and I kiss her back. 

Because I love her.

And she loves me.


	8. Day 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Last days and memories

Day 12

 

It's almost our last day together. My heart physically hurts at the thought of not getting my daily dose of Delphine. She's decided it's her turn to decide what we're doing today and I'm hoping maybe we'll just spend all day cuddled up and telling each other how much we'll miss one another and maybe creating an elaborate plan to having Delphine living with me in San Fran from now on. 

"So what's the schedule for today?" I ask, threading my fingers through Delphine's as she greets me at the bottom of the steps with a quick kiss to my forehead. She slings an arm around me lazily. 

"We're going for a walk." Well there goes the dream of cuddles in bed. She tugs me along by my hand. We're heading up the long windy road, away from the beach. 

"Okay," I reply, smiling at the blonde and squeezing her hand. She rubs her thumb along mine, returning my smile with an equally cheery one. 

"This has been the best vacation ever," she admits, a hint of sadness in her voice at the fact it's nearly over. I nod in agreement, because it's true, it's been the best vacation ever and the best vacation I ever will go on because I know I'll never find someone quite like Delphine. Someone so kind and understanding and easy to talk to or someone as pretty and charming and amazing. There's no one like her. 

Soon enough we're at the park where everything began. A wide grin spreads across the french woman's face as she gestures to the tree that stands independently in the middle of the fenced in area. 

"Where I first spoke to you," she points out. "I thought you were so oddly charismatic."

"That hurt like a bitch," I complain, referring to when I fell out the tree. "I'm pretty sure I made an indent in the ground." Delphine chuckles and rolls her eyes, dragging me towards the roundabout. 

"Where we star gazed." I hop up on to the metal disc. The immunology major leans up and kisses me gently. It still makes my stomach flip. I don't think I'll ever get used to her. Every time I see her it's like that first time on my balcony and every time we kiss it's like we've never kissed before, it's the first taste of strawberry lip gloss and the first handful of golden curls. 

We head back down the road, the park gate noisily closing behind us, still clinging on to each others hands like our lives depend on it, like maybe if we hang on hard enough we'll never be apart. The lake looks just as invitingly refreshing as it did twelve days ago and we're picking up pace now as we grow closer to it, more than ready to cool down in the cool waters. We're kicking our clothes off in the sand. Wading in to the crystal clear waters, I sigh loudly, content. The water is sloshing at my bellybutton but it's barely past Delphine's thighs.

"I wish I was a little bit taller," I confess, standing on tip toes to attempt to reach her height.

"Do you wish you were a baller?" she jokes, smirking. 

"Yeah, and I wish I had a girl I would call her."

"You can call me," the immunology major offers. I pull her towards me, hands on her hips. 

"Even when you're in France?" 

"Even when I'm in France," she confirms. A smile tugs at the corners of my lips. "We spent our first day together in this lake," Delphine reminisces. "And on that sand." She drapes her arms over my shoulders as I wrap mine around her tiny waist. Casually, she toys with the knot holding my bikini straps together at the nape of my neck, pulling at it playfully. 

"And you tackled me into the water," I grumble broodily. 

"Desolé," she apologises, tucking her feet behind my knees, legs wrapped around me. 

"No you're not," I grin, standing up straight so I'm carrying Delphine, her arms around my neck, thighs resting on my wide hips. I hold on to her, slowly and steadily walking towards the shore. When I'm finally at the sandy area the french girl kisses my forehead and let's me know I can put her down. I do because my legs are aching like hell, letting her hop down gracefully. 

"Cmon," she encourages me as she skips towards the path leading to the cliff. "I'll race you," she eggs me on, grinning widely. I start racing for the hill, Delphine quick on my tail. We're stumbling and scrambling up the steep slope, laughing and screeching as we reach the top. "That was a tie," she announces.

"I want a rematch." The blonde shakes her head and rolls her eyes, laughing. 

"How about who can reach the bottom quickest?" She questions, gesturing over her shoulder with her thumb towards the cliff. 

"Well that'll obviously be me, you skinny shrimp," I laugh. "I fall faster because I'm heavier. Aren't you supposed to be a science whiz?" Delph scowls. I poke out my tongue in response. The smoker hops towards the cliff, peering over the ledge. "On three?" She nods. 

The water seems a lot further away than before and the sky doesn't look as pretty but Delphine is hanging on to my hand and whispering three... Two... One... In her husky french accent in my ear. 

In sync, we leap. The lake leers towards us as we plummet.

"WOOOO," I yelp as we hit the water. The familiarity of being stationary returns and I catch my breath, gasping loudly. Delphine is smiling and cheering. We scrabble to the rock. 

"I think I realised how much you meant to me when we were sat right here," she says, lounging across the rough surface. A blush darkens my cheeks. She pulls me into a hug, tugging at my waist until I'm sat on her. She's sitting cross legged, feet tucked under me, whilst my legs stretch out behind her, one either side of her. "And when you kissed me," she starts, interrupting her own sentence with a salt water kiss. My heart thunders in my ears. "I realised you felt the same way." Delphine presses another firm yet caring kiss on my lips, lingering slightly. When she pulls away we stay there, nose to nose, our foreheads touching. "Je t'aime Cosima." I blink away unshed tears hastily. 

"I love you too Delphine." I punctuate it with a kiss. And another. And another and another and another until she has a years worth of kisses, two years worth of kisses, maybe enough kisses to last till we see each other again. "I love you." I repeat because I can't say it enough. 

We keep kissing until the air grows cold and Delphine's poor legs must be dead, still supporting me. 

"I think it's time to go back now," Delphine suggests. I nod in agreement, clambering off of her and stretching my legs. "How does a movie and popcorn sound?" 

"Amazing." We slide back in to the lake, calmly paddling back to the sand again. When my feet are on stable sand I notice the smoker is walking slightly funny. I suppress a giggle, asking "are you alright?"

"Just dead legs," she assures me, flexing her legs awkwardly. 

"Fancy a piggy back?" Delphine's smile widens as I bend my knees slightly, not that she needs me to be any lower for her, she's probably a whole foot taller than me. She delicately hops up and I grab hold of her shins, securing her on my back. She rests her chin on the top of my head as I stroll towards her lake house, the thoughts of popcorn spurring me on. 

Delphine's hands cup over my eyes. I'm immediately disorientated and begin veering left to right like a drunken idiot. The blonde cackles and removes her hands, instead placing them on my shoulders. 

Eventually we reach her house, flinging the door open with ring laden fingers and stumbling in, legs weak with the weight of the french girl I'm carrying. I collapse face down on her bed. She's still on my back, laying across me. 

"Getowf," I grumble into her blanket. She complies, rolling off. I turn on to my side so we're facing each other. "Today was really fun," I state, running my index finger down the length of each of her digits, swirling a spiral pattern in her palm. Delphine grabs my hand and brings in to her mouth, planting a sloppy kiss on my palm, hot breath tickling my skin. Eventually she pulls her gaze from mine, swinging her slender legs over the edge of her bed, strutting towards the movie collection that still sits at the foot of her bed from before. 

"What do you want to watch Cosima?" she inquires, tilting her head slightly. 

"Your choice," I reply. Because, to be honest, it doesn't matter what films on, I won't be watching it anyway. I won't even be looking at it. I'll be casually gazing at the face that consumes my dreams and floods my mind all the time, 24/7, I'll be admiring the way she can look flawless shovelling popcorn into her mouth.

I'll be looking at Delphine.


	9. Day 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes and goodnights

Day 13

"You go first," I demand. 

We're sat on the iconic blue roundabout, spinning slowly, our legs crossed. One of my hands hangs on to Delphine's while the other pushes the roundabout round behind me. 

"Okay, but... I'm not very creative and it's not that great and you probably won't like it and-" 

"Just hand it over Delph!" I interrupt, grinning at the self-conscious blonde. She nods and passes me the item that's been hidden in a plastic bag the whole walk to the park. 

We'd made a decision the previous day to give each other something to always remember each other, although it's doubtful I'll ever forget. 

Delphine hands me a large, colourful book. 'Summer of 2015' reads the cover in glittery cursive writing. I flip open the cover gently, running my hand along it. The first page is covered in seashells of every shape and shade.

"Are these from the lake?" I inquire. She nods sheepishly. "This is so cool," I compliment her, feeling the rough texture of each individual shell with the pad of my index finger. 

The next page is covered in paint splatters, lilac love hearts and lavender lips. I smile, reminiscing of the paint fight in the backyard. I turn the page and a chuckle loudly. An eskimo pie wrapper has been stuck to the eggshell white surface. The next has a leaf. I raise my eyebrows in confusion, lifting my head to look at Delphine.

"It's from the tree, the one you fell out of," she explains, gesturing over her shoulder. I grin and nod in understanding. There's a page that's been completely covered in sand and glue, a page of cut outs from magazines of the actors from the films we watched and even grass from the cliff. The french girl really has thought of everything. 

"Thank you," I say, leaning forward to kiss her. "Thank you so much. You've set the bar so high! I think mine's going to be a bit of a dissapointment."

"Oh hush," Delphine laughs. "I'm sure it's great." I pull my gift out of my bag. It's a small, leather-bound photo album full to the brim of photographs of me and Delphine at the lake, me and Delphine on the cliff, me and Delphine at the park, me and Delphine covered in paint, me and Delphine having a picnic and even when me and Delphine made sand sculptures. 

"It is wonderful! Merci Cosima, thank you so much." She squeezes my hand lovingly. Tears glisten in her eyes, threatening to spill down her cheeks.

"Hey, no crying yet!" I scold, running my hand up and down her arm reassuringly. "There's... there's something else." The blonde's head rises from scanning the photo album to lock eyes with me curiously. I retrieve two items from my pocket.

One of them is a black cord with a small glass jar hanging off it, about half the size of my thumb. It's full of golden sand from the lake. The other is identical, except it's full of cyan lake water. 

"One for you," I explain. "And one for me."

"How did you... Thank you Cosima."

"No worries. Which one do you want?" I inquire, holding them both out to her. Her hand clasps around the sand one, bringing it to her face to inspect it. She smiles widely. 

"What's the land without the sea?" she poetically questions.

"And the sea without the land?" I counter, grinning widely. 

"Could you-" she asks, gesturing to the necklace. I nod and take it from her, moving behind her and brushing the hair from her neck. I carefully tie it round her, knotting it at the nape of her neck. 

"That alright?" She nods as I tie my own. It hangs loosely, resting slightly to the right of my heart. "I made a promise to you almost two weeks ago that I'm going to keep today."

"Hmm?"

"I'm gonna get you so baked." Delphine giggles.

"Okay," she agrees as I pull a few joints out of my pocket along with a zippo. We lie side by side on the roundabout, staring at the clear sky as I struggle to light the joints. Eventually I do, taking a long, deep inhale, holding it until I feel a cough building when I slowly let it all out. I offer it to the french girl. She accepts, pressing it between kissable lips. Tendrils of smoke reach out for me, swirling out of her mouth. She grins and nods. 

 

A few joints and a multitude of eskimo pies later, we're still in the park, swinging on the swings like school children. Delphine tips her head back, staring at the now darkening sky. 

"Where does the sky start though?" she wonders, eyebrows furrowing in confusion. 

"In your eyes," I quip.

"That was so cheesy!" teases the immunology major, tittering. She jumps up, feet planted firmly on the swing. Her arms are out to her sides like a child pretending to be an airplane. "I'm on top of the world!"

"Alright Kate Winslet," I joke, grinning at the blonde as I gently push the swing with my toe, causing her to wobble uncontrollably. She yelps. 

"It's getting cold outside, do you want to..." Delphine trails off, gesturing down the road towards her house over her shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah sounds great!" I enthusiastically respond, leaping up. The blonde skips past me, grabbing hold of my hand and yanking me along, her necklace bouncing against her chest as she goes. 

"C'mon!" she exclaims. We run down the road, hand in hand, pulse racing, breaths become more unsteady and rapid.

Delphine flings her door open and bellyflops onto her cozy bed, placing her photo album on the floor carefully. I follow suit, delicately closing the door behind me. 

"I'm going to miss you like crazy," I admit, wrapping my arms around Delphine in a tight embrace. Tears fog up my vision like a blurry filter, gathering and falling like raindrops down a car window. I've never felt so high and so low at the same time.

"I will miss you a thousand times more," the immunology major one ups me, nuzzling her face into my collarbone and neck. The vibrant smell of lavender hits me as corkscrew curls tickle my nose. 

"I'm crazy in love with you Delphine Cormier." She starts humming the tune to 'Crazy in Love' by Beyoncé, making me shake with laughter uncontrollably.

"I love you too Cosima Niehaus." 

"You better," I threaten playfully, grinning from ear to ear.

"I do, I really do." And I can tell by the way her eyes shine with tears and the way her voice cracks and breaks slightly that she does. Beads of water slip down her cheeks. I quickly swipe them away with my thumbs, pressing gentle kisses where they were. 

"Don't cry please," I beg hypocritically as tears profusely leak from my eyes. "I hate seeing you cry." 

"Desolé, I can't help it." 

"I'm going to email you every day," I promise. "And when we're older and you're some rich hotshot famous scientist you can buy me loads of plane tickets to come visit you! And you can visit me and we can stay here at the lake house!" I excitedly ramble, although we both know it's all just childish make-believe games.

"And we can move into this lake house and buy a dog!" Delphine adds, face lighting up.

"A pug."

"Mmm, yes a pug definitely."

"And we'll have two kids, a boy and a girl," I decide.

"Without getting married?"

"Who said we aren't married already in this alternate universe?" I counter, raising my eyebrows. 

"Fair point." A comfortable silence falls over us. "Hey, Cosima?" More hot tears are spilling over the blondes eyes. Her chin wobbles as she suppresses a sob.

"Yeah?"

"Don't go."

And those two words break my heart.


	10. Day 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goodbyes and familiar faces

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've loved writing this so much, thank you to everyone for the support and feedback it's all muchly appreciated! I'll really miss writing this, but hoping to start a new fic soon! :)

Day 14

"Hrrrrggg," I groan into my pillow as I roll over, squinting through darkness to read my alarm clock on my bedside table. But my alarm clock isn't there. And this isn't my pillow. I sit up confused and look at my watch. It's 1:36.

"Damn," I mutter. I must have fallen asleep at Delphine's. I look over and there she is, eyes still puffy from hours and hours of crying and hugging and crying, yet she still manages to look beautiful, a peaceful smile painted on her face while she hugs her knees, curled in a ball like a foetus. 

"Hey, Delph, wake up," I whisper, gently shaking her shoulder. "Delphine I've got to go back to my house now before my parents get up." Her head sleepily rises, eyes surrounded by crinkles as she squints. She rubs at her sleep dusted eyes with the back of her hand, yawning. The realisation hits her in the face like a brick that this may be the last time she ever sees me. 

"Cosima..." she breathes, hugging me tighter than I've ever been hugged before. I squeeze her back, breathing in that iconic lavender smell like it's my drug. "I love you. I love you. I'm going to miss you so much. I love you."

"I love you too." She presses a lingering kiss against my lips, hand pressed against my cheek. 

"Please don't forget me." 

"Never!" I reply, clenching a fist around my necklace. "I love you." I kiss her one last time and get up, grabbing my scrapbook opening the door as quietly as possible. I hope we haven't woken her parents. Turning around, I give her one last wave before shutting the door and slipping back through the balcony into my own room. 

When I flop on to my bed every emotion hits me all at once. Sobs rack my body as I wheeze into my pillow, defensively curled up. The worst part is that Delphine isn't here to soothe and comfort me or to hold me till the tears stop. 

I cry myself to sleep.

 

When I wake up my mother is stood over me. 

"Cosima? Cosima wake up, we've got to go soon!" she calls. 

"Yeah, yeah, okay I'm getting up," I grumble. She leaves with a huff and I sleepily drag myself out of bed, forcing myself to get dressed a sort my dreads into something fairly respectful.

I pack the last of my suitcase, making sure not to forget my scrapbook. 

Eventually I'm all packed and ready. I begin lugging my suitcase out of the house and down the drive before stuffing it into the boot of our car. I pile into the backseat, immediately plugging my headphones in and resting my head against the soothingly cool window. It relieves the dull throb of pain in my temple. When I open my eyes Delphine is stood on her balcony, looking directly at me. My jaw drops as I wind down my window to lean out.

"Bye!" I call across to her.

"Goodbye Cosima!" she shouts back, waving wildly. 

"I love you," I mouth silently. 

"I love you too, " she responds. I grin as my dad pulls out of the drive and we continue down the road until Delphine fades from a person to a shadowy figure, to a rough outline, to a blob, to a dot, to a speck. 

And then she disappears.

 

Epilogue

It's been almost five years since that legendary trip to the lake house. 

Five years of only ever emailing Delphine. 

Five years where a scrapbook was the only thing that remotely sufficed seeing her, the faint smell of lavender barely even tainting the book now. 

Five years of missing her more than I've ever missed anyone ever.

The houses are the exact same, directly opposite each other. I skip up the steps of my balcony, tracing my hand over the rough wood. 

I run to the beach like we used to. 'Delphine,' I scrawl messily in the sand with my foot, but the waves crash down and wash it away. As if it never existed. I let out an exasperated sigh before plodding up the road towards the park.

I can hardly believe it's still here. The slide is covered in loud graffiti, untold stories of spray cans and hoodlums. I sit on the swing, rocking backwards and forwards melancholily.

Five years. 

Too a long a time to not see the girl who was your whole life and who consumed all of you love for two weeks. Too long. 

I stand under the tree that started everything, pulling my scrapbook from my rucksack and opening it to the page with the leaf. 

I've had multiple girlfriends since Delphine but none of them felt... real. It all felt slightly off, like they weren't quite there. I haven't loved anyone it that way since Delphine.

Delphine, Delphine, Delphine.

Where is she now?

I wander down the winding round back to the lake, kicking pebbles out of my way grumpily. 

I miss Delphine. 

When I reach the sand I kick off my shoes and socks, rolling up my jeans to my knees before wading in to the murky waters. They don't look as clear anymore, it's like the paint has faded. 

I shake my head. The trip was supposed to be a getaway, a relaxing holiday, not a chance to sulk over and miss the blonde. I can practically hear her in my head, the words echoing between my temples, "I love you Cosima."

"Cosima." I shake my head to clear her voice from my mind, but it doesn't work. Instead it seems to get louder. Wait is that-

I spin around and look up. Oh my god! Standing on top of the cliff, curls shining, grinning as she calls my name. 

"Cosima!" She waves animatedly, looking like an angel that has descended straight from heaven to perch on the ledge. 

"Delphine!" I shout, racing up the path to the cliff.

"Delphine!" I respond as she calls "Cosima!" like some weird game of marco polo. When I see her, see she's really, in the flesh, actually here, I quicken my pace, tears already filling my eyes. 

We collide, arms tangled in a hug.

"I missed you so much, oh my god, what are you doing here, how did you even, what-" I ramble, overexcited, leaning back to admire her. She looks almost the exact same as when I last saw her. 

"When you told me you were coming here in that email, I thought I'd surprise you," she explains sheepishly. "I've really missed you."

"I've missed you too. So much. We have a lot to catch up on."

"Indeed," agrees Delphine. And then she's pulling me towards her, hand on the back of my neck, and she's capturing my lips in a kiss full of a thousand "I missed you"s. And I'm kissing her back. 

And she tastes like home.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Always welcome to constructive criticism. This fanfic was inspired by the short film 'Warpaint' which you can watch at http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=kyehJMep4Rk You can find me on tumblr at www.misguided-renegade.tumblr.com :)


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